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(No Model I 5 Sheets--Sheet I. J. P. MOELROY. SYSTEM OF MOTOR TRUCKS.

No. 578,760. Patented Mar. 16; 1897.

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No. 578,760. Patented Mar. 16,1897.

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(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

' J. P. MoELROY.-' SYSTEM OF MOTOR/TRUCKS.

No. 578,760. Patented Ma.r.16,1897.

(NoModel 5 SheetsSheet 4.

, J. RMcELROY.

SYSTEM OF MOTOR TRUCKS. No. 578,760 Patented Mar; 16, 1897.

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(No Model) 5 ShBGts-Sheetfi.

J. P. McELROY. SYSTEM OF MOTOR TRUGKS.

No. 578,760. Patented Mar. 16, 1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES F. MCELBOY, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE CONSOLI- DATED CAR-IIEATING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SYSTEM OF MOTOR-TRUCKS.

SPECIFItJATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,760, dated March 16, 1897.

Application filed July 9,1896. Serial No. 598,590. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: sive and quickly wearout, and when the teeth Be it known that I, JAMES F. MOELROY, a on the pinion or the gear-wheel break the citizen of the United States, residing in the motor becomes inoperative and it is absocity and county of Albany, State of New York, lutely unable to propel the car. When the 5 5 have invented a new and useful Improvement pinions become slightly worn, the smooth runin Systems of Motor-Trucks, of which the folning of the wheels is interfered with, causlowing is a specification. ing a step-by-step motion instead of a steady My invention relates to improvements in rotary motion, the steps being taken by sucmotor-trucks; and the objects of my invencessive contacts of tooth and tooth. lVhen 6o tion are to provideastreet-car truck arranged wheels in this condition are caused to turn in such a manner that the noise now attendrapidly or are transmitting a large amount ant upon the operation thereof will be greatly of energy, the successive contacts of the teeth reduced, the pounding averted, the moveof the two sets of wheels produce a noise which ment of the car rendered more smooth, atis exceedingly unpleasant. Because of this I 5 tended with less vibration, and so arranged objection the pinions and gear-wheels are that the brakes maybe operated more quickly, often obliged to be thrown away long before and the construction such that the truck may the teeth are worn to such an extent as to be made at less expense and capable of greater become absolutely inoperative. endurance than those now in use. I attain In the construction of large cars practical 20 these objects by means of the mechanism illusrailroad men have encountered difficulties betrated in the accompanying drawings, in cause of the desire to employ two independent which trucks, it being almost impossible to obtain Figure 1 is a plan, partly in section. Fig. tractive eifect sufficient to operate heavy cars 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is a detail perunless all of the wheels carrying the weight 25 spective view of the saddle F. Fig. 4 is a secof the car are also employed in driving the tion along the lines 1 2 3 4 on Fig. 1. Fig. 5 car. Thus, if a car has two trucks, each is a plan of amodified form of truck. Fig. 6 made of two pairs of wheels, it has been is a side elevation of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a dedeemed necessary, especially where heavy tail perspective view of the journal-supports. grades are to be encountered, to place four 30 Fig. 8 is a plan, partly in section, showing motorsupon the car, one connecting to each the connection between the rod R and the pair of wheels. The cars must be so 0011- yoke Y. Fig. 9 is a detail view of the yoke Y. structed that they will turn ordinary street Fig. 10 is a plan of a modified form of my incorners, and therefore the wheel-base must Vention. Fig. 11 is a side elevation of Fig. 10. be brought within such limits that the pair 3 5 Fig. 12 is a side elevation of a modified form of wheels which tend to move upon the tanof my invention, and Fig. 13 is a side elevagent of the curve will slip sufficiently to foltion of a modified form of Inyinvention. Fig. low the curve itself. On this account when 14. shows the friction-roller in contact with a a single.truck is used the distance between ring mounted on the shaft. the center of the wheels which constitutes the o Similarletters refer to similar parts throughwheel-base is limited to about seven feet. out the several views. This short wheel-base is used in cars having In electric cars the trucks provided with eleoa length as great as twenty-five feet or more. trio motors are now arranged in such a man- The result of the short wheel-base is that ner that the armature communicates with the whatever motion is produced by irregulari- 5 45 car-axle by means of a pinion on the motorties in the track is enlarged in proportion to shaft, which inter-meshes with the spur-wheel the length of the car to the wheel-base, so on the car-axle. The spur gear-wheel is necthat ordinarily the up-and-down motion at essarily of smaller diameter than the drivethe end of a car twenty-five feet long is at wheel, for the reason that the spur-wheel must least four times the amount of the motion at Ice 50 not reach to within five or six inches of the the wheel-base. It is for the purpose of overground. These spur gear-wheels are expencoming these difficulties with the existing method that I have invented a traction system which makes practical the use of double trucks with longer cars, and where short cars are desired does away with pinions and gearwheels, and therefore the noise produced by those devices and the expense incurred in short maintenance. To accomplish this, I construct a truck A, in which the two sets of wheels B B belonging in the truck are brought closer together, giving a short wheel-base in the truck, so that it will turn corners more easily, and then placing between the forward and rear sets of wheels a friction-roller 0, preferably made of steel, and so arranging the truck as to cause a pressure between the friction-roller O and the faces of the car-wheels B B. This pressure may be approximately equal to the pressure of the wheel upon the track. I then connect an electric or other motor so as to cause the rotation in the friction-roller O, and the friction between the roller and the two sets of car-wheels will cause, when the motor is operated, the rotation of all the wheels-of the truck in the same direction. I preferably place a roller 0 between the wheels on both sides of the car, so that all of the four wheels of the truck are driven by the same motor and all driven in the same direction.

It is obvious that I may use but one friction-roller in the truck, the same being rotated from the armature-shaft and then communicated to the forward. and rear wheels of that truck and by means of the axles of each pair of wheels communicate the motion to the wheels running on the opposite side of the car.

In constructing the truck so as to cause the two sets of drive-wheels to bear against the friction-roller a number of constructions may be followed, all of which have the same object in view, namely, the increase of tractive elfect between the friction-roller and the drive-wheels by means of pressure; I pref erably employ for this purpose the weight of the car to produce the thrust, so that as the load of the car increases, and hence the amount of power necessary to move the car upgrade increases, I also increase the tractive effect between the friction-roller and the drive-wheels. I therefore construct a truckframe A, which rests upon the bearings of the drive-wheels B B and enlarge the truckframe bearings 01 d of one or both of the drive-wheels, so that they may have a horizontal motion toward the friction-roller, as

shown in Fig. 2, the bearings d d being capable of motion within the truck-frame. I then connect the journal-boxes D D by means of suitable links D D' to the armf on the saddleF, the saddle F carrying the weight of the motor, the weight of the car, or both the weight of the motor and the weight of the car. It is evident that the downward pressure upon this saddle, which is suspended from the bearings from the truck-journals, draws those journals toward each other, and by adopting the proper angles between the the saddle or in any suitable manner.

connections to the saddle and the journalboxes the pressure which may be brought to bear upon the friction-roller may be increased to any desired extent. Ipreferably construct this saddle F in the form shown in Fig. 3, being provided with spring-seats g g in each corner of the frame composing the saddle, upon which seats 9 g is arranged a spiral spring S, which forms a cushion for the supporting-frame G, which is constructed to fit within the saddle F, and which frame G is provided on its upper surface with suitable wheels or rollers g for the purpose of allowing for the free rotating movement of the car-body upon the frame G. v

Secured to the frame G and projecting therefrom I arrange a king-bolt G, which projects into the car-body. Beneath the frame G and within the saddle F, I mount the motor I-I, supporting the same with strong springs sufficient to carry theweight of the motor, making elastic connections from the sides f of I arrange a guide-arm J to each end of the saddle F, which arms project. into a bearing in the bracket K, secured to the frame A, and has a rod j passing through the guide-arm J also through the bracket K, said rod j carrying on each side of the bracket K a spring 76 is, allowing for a slight horizontal motion against the tension of the spring 713, the'bearing in said bracket also allowing for a slight vertical movement of the saddle.

For the purpose of allowing for an up-anddown movement of the motor I usually arrange a flexible connection between the friction-roller shaft 0 and the armature, as at As thus arranged the supporting-frame G, which rests in the saddle F, is capable of a slight vertical motion within the bracket K, and thus allows for any wear that may take place in the friction-roller or in the carwheels themselves, so that in all circumstances the weight of the car may be made to operate to cause the desired. pressure of the drive-wheels upon the friction-rollers.

It is well-known that the drive-wheels do not wear evenly, and the. wear of the drivewheels by running on the roller comes more largely upon those parts of the drive-wheels which bear against the track, and the wear therefore comes upon that portion near the flange of the drive-wheels.

It will be noticed that the-friction-roller is so placed in my truck that its bearing upon the face of the drive-wheels is greater against those portions of the drive-wheel which do not receive the wear of the track. Thus I make the drive-wheels wear evenly, as that part which is now worn by contact with the rails does not receive the wear due to contact with the friction-roller, but rather those portions either outside or inside the plane of railcontact. In the construction of the frictionroller 0, I preferably make a groove in the friction-roller, as at c, in which the flanges of the two drive-wheels bear in running. I

IIO

preferably make this construction such that the bearing against the flange will come in the line of the face of the drive-wheel itself. This construction makes it possible to operate this device without any slipping whatever in any part of the friction-roller in contact with the drive-wheels. It also serves another important purpose. Since the flanges of the forward and rear wheels both run in the same groove in the friction-roller, I employ this groove to lock the forward and rear sets of drive-wheels together in such away that when. the forward wheels strike a curve, causing a pressure parallel to its axis, the strain is not thrown upon the truck-frame, but is communicated through the interlocking of the flanges of the forward and rear drive-wheels to cause a reshifting of the truck as a whole to meet the new direction of motion of the truck. This interlocking arrangement prevents the strain of side motion in one set of drive-wheels being thrown upon the truck-frame, which in the ordinary construction of apparatus must be strong enough to draw upon the rear set of drivers, producing slipping on one of the wheels of this set sufficient to shift the truck to its new position.

I am also enabled by the use of this apparatus to apply the brake to the wheels of the truck, causing them to stop rotation quickly. This causes a slipping between the frictionroller and the faces of the wheels which would result in the stripping of the cogs were pinions and gear-wheels employed. In the same way the use of my apparatus prevents shocks coming from the sudden application of current to an electric motor, which are taken up between the friction roller and the drivewheels in part at least, which in the case of pinions and gear-wheels would strip those wheels of their cogs.

Instead of having the friction-roller brought in contact with the surface of the drivewheels it is apparent that rings might be constructed upon the drive-wheels, or frictionwheels may be constructed, mounted upon the drive-wheel shafts, against which the friction-roller may bear and which maybe caused to operate as herein described. (See Fig. 14.) I may also employa diiferent construction in which the j ournal-bearin gs of the drivewheels are supported in the truck-frame in such a way that the wheels are brought close together, the distance between them being less than the diameter of the friction-roller. The friction-roller can then be placed cit-her above the wheels or below and caused to wedge into the space between the two wheels, and in this way the pressure between the friction-roller and the drive-wheels maybe obtained, causing, when the friction-roller is rotated, the proper direction of rotation in the drive-wheels. In applying this method of traction to cars employing only a single truck it is evidently necessary to place the wheels farther apart in order .to obtain proper wheel-base. In making this application of the friction-roller I preferably construct a truck-frame bearing upon the journal-boxes of the driving-wheel axles, as shown in Fig. 6. In building trucks of this kind I preferably use two motors II II, one for each pair of drivers, the friction-roller being connected directly to the motor-shaft, as already described, the motor being suspended, preferably on elastic suspension-springs, to the carbody.

In the construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6 I connect, by means of the rod R, the yokes Y Y, which yokes contain a bearing for the friction-roller C, said rod holding the frictionroller in a fi'xed position. I preferably make a bearing between the rod R and the yoke Y, such that an up-and-down motion may take place between the rod and the yoke. I construct a frame M upon each side of the truck, upon which is supported the body A of the car, preferably interposing between the two springs a a. To the frame M, I secure the yoke Y and arrange the journal-boxes D D of the wheels 13 B between the downward and upwardly projecting arms N N, so arranged that said journal-boxes D are capable of movement between the arms N N, which arms are placed at a diagonal to the vertical through the drive-wheels, the weight of the car tending to force the journal-boxes D toward the center line of the car and thus draw the wheels toward each other. It is apparent that the greater the weight on the car the greater will be the pressure of the drivewheels upon the friction-rollers.

In Figs. 10 and 11 I showa modified construction of my truck. I11 this the weight of the car on the frame A forces downward the tieplate P, to which the connecting-links P are attached, the journal-boxes D D of the drivewheels being capable of horizontal movement,

the friction-roller being also capable of horizontal movement. It is apparent that the links P, connecting the j ournal-boXes of both the friction-roller and the drive-wheels, will, because of the weight of the car resting upon the tie-plate to which the links are secured, cause the contact between the drive-wheels and the friction-roller to be maintained by the weight of the car.

In Fig. 12 I show a modified form of my invention, arranging the bell-crank lever Q, mounted upon the lug Q, which is secured to the frame A, carrying the weight of the car. One end of the bell-crank lever Q rests in contact with the top of the journal-box D of the drive-wheel, the other end in contact with the'journal-boxp of the friction-roller. Thus, when the weight in the car is increased, the upward pressure on one arm of the bell-crank lever Q will tend to force the friction-roller against the drive-wheel.

The reverse of Fig. 12 is shown in Fig. 13. In this case the friction-rollers are fixed rigidly in position. The weight of the car is on one arm of the lever Q. The tendency is to move the j ournal-boxes D of the drive-wheels toward the friction-roller.

The contact between the drive-wheels and the friction-roller is an elastic one, because of the movable bearing of the drive-wheels, or when the drive-wheel bearing is immovable, as in the modification shown in Fig. 12, of the movable bearing of the friction-roller.

The friction-roller does not sustain the weight of the car or of the truck, but is left free to adjust itself between the drive-wheels, or in connection with one of the drive-wheels, as the case may be.

I claim- 1. In a truck, forward and rear sets of drivewheels, a friction-roller placed between them and arranged to rotate in contact therewith, constant contact maintained by the weight of the car acting on the movable bearing of the friction-roller, a motor connected with and adapted to operate said friction-roller, for the purpose set forth.

2. In a truck, forward and rear sets of drivewheels, a friction-roller, a motor connected with and adapted to operate said frictionroller, said friction-roller and drive-wheels so arranged in relation to each other that the roller shall be in contact with one of the forward and one of the rear wheels of each set in such manner that the rotation of the friction-roller will put in revolution both sets of wheels in the same direction, constant ,contact between the friction-roller and the drivewheels maintained by the weight of the car acting on the movable bearing of the drivewheels, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a truck, forward and rear sets of drive- Wheels journal-boxes for said wheels movable horizontally, a roller arranged to make frictional contact with one of the forward and one of the rear wheels of each set, a motor, said roller connected therewith, acar mounted on supports connected with said movable journal-boxes the weight of the car causing the drive-wheels to press against the roller, for the purpose set forth.

4. In a truck, a friction-roller, a motor adapted toimpart rotary motion to said roller,

forward and rear sets of drive-wheels engaging with said roller, the bearings of said drivewheels movable horizontally, a frame adapted to carry the car, a saddle supporting said frame, said saddle mounted in said truck, connections between the j ournal-boxes of the drive-wheels and the saddle, the weight of the car on the saddle, forcing the drive-wheels in contact with the friction-roller, for the purpose set forth.

5. In a truck, the combination of a drivewheel, a friction-roller, a movable journalbox for said drive-wheel, a car mounted on said truck, means for connecting the supports of said car with the movable journal-box, the weight of the car causing the journal-box of the drive-wheel to so move as to increase the pressure of the drive-wheel upon the frictionroller, for the purpose set forth.

6. In a truck, a friction-roller, a motor adapted to impart rotary motion thereto, a drive-wheel in contact with said frictionroller, a movable bearing for said drive-wheel, and means for increasing the pressure of said drive-wheel against said friction-roller by the weight of the car acting on the journal-box of said drive-Wheel, for the purpose set forth.

7. In a truck, a drive-wheel, a roller in frictional contact therewith, a car supported upon a frame, connections between said frame and the journal-box of the drive-wheel and the friction-roller, the weight of the car on the frame operating to draw the drive-wheel and the friction-roller together, for the purpose set forth.

8. In a truck, a motor, a drive-wheel, a friction-roller, said motor adapted to impart a rotary motion to said friction-roller, a movable bearing for said friction-roller in the truck-frame, a car mounted on said truckframe, a lever connecting the movable journal-box of said friction-roller to said motor,

the weight of the car tending to force the friction-roller against the drive-wheel, substantially as described.

JAMES F. MCELROY. Witnesses:

FREDERICK W. CAMERON, CHAS. B. MITCHELL. 

